|
Military Flying Saucers
A circular wing is a disc-shaped wing having the outer planform of a circle. If the aircraft has no fuselage or tail the disc-shaped craft is sometimes described as a ''flying saucer''. If the entire disc rotates it is called a ''disc wing''. Disc-shaped aircraft development dates back to before World War II. A number of disc-shaped aircraft have been proposed over the years, and a few have been built. Circular wing aircraft Nemeth Umbrella Plane In 1934, at Miami University (of Ohio), an aircraft called the Nemeth Umbrella Plane (aka Roundwing) was tested. (''Nemeth'' is sometimes spelled ''Nuneth''.) This aircraft had a parasol wing of circular form above a conventional fuselage and tail, and it was powered by propeller in a tractor configuration. Sack AS.6 During World War II, a number of disc-shaped aircraft were proposed by aircraft designers in Germany. One of the few to make it further than the drawing board was the Sack AS-6, an experimental light plane with a round-wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wing
A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the benefit of lift with the air resistance of a given wing shape, as it flies. Aerodynamics is the study of wing performance in air. Equivalent Foil (fluid mechanics), foils that move through water are found on Hydrofoil, hydrofoil power vessels and Sailing hydrofoil, foiling sailboats that lift out of the water at speed and on submarines that use diving planes to point the boat upwards or downwards, while running submerged. Hydrodynamics is the study of foil performance in water. Etymology and usage The word "wing" from the Old Norse ''vængr'' for many centuries referred mainly to the foremost limb (anatomy), limbs of birds (in addition to the architectural aisle). But in recent centuries the word's meaning ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aspect Ratio (wing)
In aeronautics, the aspect ratio of a wing is the ratio of its Wingspan, span to its mean chord (aircraft), chord. It is equal to the square of the wingspan divided by the wing area. Thus, a long, narrow wing has a high aspect ratio, whereas a short, wide wing has a low aspect ratio.Kermode, A.C. (1972), ''Mechanics of Flight'', Chapter 3, (p.103, eighth edition), Pitman Publishing Limited, London Aspect ratio and other features of the Planform (aeronautics), planform are often used to predict the aerodynamic efficiency of a wing because the lift-to-drag ratio increases with aspect ratio, improving the fuel economy in aircraft, fuel economy in powered airplanes and the gliding angle of sailplanes. Definition The aspect ratio \text is the ratio of the square of the wingspan b to the projected wing area S, which is equal to the ratio of the wingspan b to the standard mean chord \text: \text \equiv \frac = \frac Mechanism As a useful simplification, an airplane in flight can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lenticular Reentry Vehicle
The Lenticular Reentry Vehicle (LRV), according to a November 2000 ''Popular Mechanics'' cover story, was an experimental nuclear warhead delivery system under development during the Cold War by defense contractor North American Aviation, managed out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. Development The project was classified as secret in 1962 and cleared for public release on December 28, 1999.Oberto, R. J. (1962, October). Environmental control systems selection for manned space vehicles. Volume II, Appendix I, missions, vehicles, equipment. (AD333266). Its declassified technical report had been compiled by R. J. Oberto, Los Angeles Division of North American Aviation. His report described the LRV as an offensive weapons system. ''Popular Mechanics'' obtained information on the LRV from a Freedom of Information Act request after documents describing the project were declassified in 1999. Related research commenced during the late 1950s. The Convair/Pomona di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pye Wacket
Pye Wacket was the codename for an experimental Lens (geometry), lenticular-form air-to-air missile developed by the Convair Division of the General Dynamics Corporation in 1957. Intended as a defensive missile for the B-70 Valkyrie Mach 3 bomber, the program saw extensive wind-tunnel testing and seemed promising; however, the cancellation of the B-70 removed the requirement for the missile, and the project was cancelled. Genesis Project "Pye Wacket", officially known as the Lenticular Defense Missile (LDM) Program and by the project number WS-740A, was instituted in 1958 in response to a US Air Force request for a Defensive Anti-Missile System (DAMS) to protect the proposed B-70 Valkyrie strategic bomber from high-speed, high-altitude surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) and interceptor aircraft.Parsch 2005 The extreme speed and operating altitude of the Valkyrie was considered sufficient protection against Soviet interceptors of the time. However it was anticipated that future aircr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hovercraft
A hovercraft (: hovercraft), also known as an air-cushion vehicle or ACV, is an amphibious craft capable of travelling over land, water, mud, ice, and various other surfaces. Hovercraft use blowers to produce a large volume of air below the Hull (watercraft), hull, or air cushion, that is slightly above atmospheric pressure. The pressure difference between the higher-pressure air below the hull and lower pressure ambient air above it produces lift, which causes the hull to float above the running surface. For stability reasons, the air is typically blown through slots or holes around the outside of a disk- or oval-shaped platform, giving most hovercraft a characteristic rounded-rectangle shape. The first practical design for hovercraft was derived from a British invention in the 1950s. They are now used throughout the world as specialised transports in disaster relief, coastguard, military and survey applications, as well as for sport or passenger service. Very large version ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VZ-9 AV Avrocar
The Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar is a VTOL aircraft developed by Avro Canada as part of a secret U.S. military project carried out in the early years of the Cold War. The Avrocar intended to exploit the Coandă effect to provide lift and thrust from a single "turborotor" blowing exhaust out of the rim of the disk-shaped aircraft. In the air, it would have resembled a flying saucer. Originally designed as a fighter-like aircraft capable of very high speeds and altitudes, the project was repeatedly scaled back over time and the U.S. Air Force eventually abandoned it. Development was then taken up by the U.S. Army for a tactical combat aircraft requirement, a sort of high-performance helicopter.Milberry 1979, p. 137. In flight testing, the Avrocar proved to have unresolved thrust and stability problems that limited it to a degraded, low-performance flight envelope; subsequently, the project was cancelled in September 1961. Through the history of the program, the project was referre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United States Constitution (1789).See alsTitle 10, Subtitle B, Chapter 301, Section 3001 It operates under the authority, direction, and control of the United States Secretary of Defense, United States secretary of defense. It is one of the six armed forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. The Army is the most senior branch in order of precedence amongst the armed services. It has its roots in the Continental Army, formed on 14 June 1775 to fight against the British for independence during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army.Library of CongressJournals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coandă Effect
The Coandă effect ( or ) is the tendency of a jet (fluid), fluid jet to stay attached to a surface of any form. ''Merriam-Webster'' describes it as "the tendency of a jet of fluid emerging from an orifice to follow an adjacent flat or curved surface and to entrain fluid from the surroundings so that a region of lower pressure develops." It is named after Romanian inventor Henri Coandă, who was the first to recognize the practical application of the phenomenon in aircraft design around 1910. It was first documented explicitly in two patents issued in 1936. Discovery An early description of this phenomenon was provided by Thomas Young (scientist), Thomas Young in a lecture given to The Royal Society in 1800: More than a hundred years later, Henri Coandă identified an application of the effect during experiments with his Coandă-1910 aircraft, which mounted an unusual engine he designed. The motor-driven turbine pushed hot air rearward, and Coandă noticed that the airflow w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Carver Meadows Frost
John Carver Meadows Frost (1915 in Walton-on-Thames, England – 9 October 1979 in Auckland, New Zealand) was a British aircraft designer. His primary contributions centred on pioneering supersonic British experimental aircraft and as the chief designer who shepherded Canada's first jet fighter project, the Avro Canada CF-100, to completion. He was also the major force behind the Avro Canada VTOL aircraft projects, particularly as the unheralded creator of the Avro Canada flying saucer projects. Early life Frost's introduction to aviation had begun when he was a teenager. At school in the early 1930s his Latin teacher A. Maitland Emmet had taken him up in a Bristol Fighter. John Frost had been born in Walton-on-Thames near London in 1915 and had shown an early interest in the sciences at St Edward's School, Oxford, where he graduated with honours in mathematics, chemistry and physics. Aviation career First designs Frost began his aeronautical career in the 1930s as an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avro Canada
Avro Canada was a Canadian aircraft manufacturing company. It was founded in 1945 as an aircraft plant and within 13 years became the third-largest company in Canada, one of the largest 100 companies in the world, and directly employing over 50,000. Avro Canada was best known for the CF-105 Arrow, but through growth and acquisition, it rapidly became a major, integrated company that had diverse holdings. Following the cancellation of the CF-105 Arrow the company ceased operations in 1962. A.V. Roe Canada Origins During World War II, Victory Aircraft in Malton, Ontario, was Canada's largest aircraft manufacturer. Prior to 1939, as a part of National Steel Car of Hamilton, the concern was one of a number of "shadow factories" set up in Canada to produce British aircraft designs far out of range of enemy attack. National Steel Car produced Avro Anson trainers, Handley Page Hampden bombers, Hawker Hurricane fighters and Westland Lysander army cooperation aircraft. National Steel C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avrocar Flying
The Avro Canada VZ-9 Avrocar is a VTOL aircraft developed by Avro Canada as part of a secret U.S. military project carried out in the early years of the Cold War. The Avrocar intended to exploit the Coandă effect to provide lift and thrust from a single "turborotor" blowing exhaust out of the rim of the disk-shaped aircraft. In the air, it would have resembled a flying saucer. Originally designed as a fighter-like aircraft capable of very high speeds and altitudes, the project was repeatedly scaled back over time and the U.S. Air Force eventually abandoned it. Development was then taken up by the U.S. Army for a tactical combat aircraft requirement, a sort of high-performance helicopter.Milberry 1979, p. 137. In flight testing, the Avrocar proved to have unresolved thrust and stability problems that limited it to a degraded, low-performance flight envelope; subsequently, the project was cancelled in September 1961. Through the history of the program, the project was referre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Short Takeoff And Landing
A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that can takeoff/land on short runways. Many STOL-designed aircraft can operate on airstrips with harsh conditions (such as high altitude or ice). STOL aircraft, including those used in scheduled passenger airline operations, can be operated from STOLport airfields that feature short runways. Design STOL aircraft come in configurations such as bush planes, autogyros, and taildraggers, and those such as the de Havilland Canada Dash-7 that are designed for use on conventional airstrips. The PAC P-750 XSTOL, the Daher Kodiak, the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter and the Wren 460 have STOL capability, needing a short ground roll to get airborne, but are capable of a near-zero ground roll when landing. For any plane, the required runway length is a function of the square of the stall speed (minimum flying speed), and much design effort is spent on minimizing this number. For takeoff, large power/weigh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
